2026 AI Symposium Speakers

Kaitlin Asrow was appointed Acting Superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) by Governor Kathy Hochul effective October 18, 2025.
Prior to her appointment, she served as Executive Deputy Superintendent of the Department’s Research & Innovation Division where she led the regulation of virtual currency entities, including BitLicenses and limited purpose trust companies. Under her leadership, DFS developed one of the world’s most sophisticated regulatory frameworks for digital assets and issued 11 pieces of groundbreaking regulatory guidance, helping to establish a global gold standard for virtual currency oversight.
Acting Superintendent Asrow also oversaw Department-wide initiatives on innovation policy, economic research, financial inclusion, and data governance. Since joining DFS in 2022, she has played a key role in advancing the Department’s operational modernization and transformation efforts.
Before her tenure at DFS, Acting Superintendent Asrow served as a Senior Policy Advisor for both the Bank of San Francisco and the Board of Governors within the Federal Reserve System. In that capacity, she led supervision and policy initiatives across the Federal Reserve System and coordinated innovation policy among the 12 district banks, the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Her work focused on emerging financial technologies, data governance and management, data privacy, and artificial intelligence. Prior to the Federal Reserve, she worked for the Center for Financial Services Innovation, now the Financial Health Network, the leading authority on consumer financial health.
A recognized leader in financial services innovation and policy, entity supervision, and research design, Acting Superintendent Asrow has published extensively on data policy, including an evaluation of data protection and data rights in the United States and a review of Open Banking. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago.

Michele L. Jawando serves as CEO of Omidyar Network. She leads the organization and its key strategic priorities, including partnerships with other philanthropies and investors. She serves as a bridge-builder across sectors — connecting venture capitalists, policymakers, creators and researchers — to shape a more inclusive, humanity-centered tech ecosystem. She seamlessly integrates emergent issues, narrative development, inclusive investment strategies, and policy work across all initiatives of this philanthropic organization, which has committed more than $1.94 billion to organizations that share its vision since its inception.
Drawing on her legal expertise, Michele brings critical perspectives on open source systems, digital infrastructure, standards development, and internet governance, ensuring that cultural inclusion and digital rights inform the work at every level. Under her guidance, Omidyar Network has built a significant portfolio in responsible technology development and AI governance, supporting more than 100 organizations, including Pop Culture Collaborative, Partnership for AI, Anthropic, Digital Cooperation Fund, and BIA, among others.
Prior to joining Omidyar Network, Michele served as the U.S. Head of Strategic Engagement and Public Policy Partnerships at Google, where she managed cross-departmental strategic relationships with political leaders, nonprofits, and think tanks. She co-led the 2020 Global Election Integrity team and created innovative global digital strategy initiatives. Her extensive public service experience includes roles as Vice President at the Center for American Progress, General Counsel and Senior Advisor to U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and Counsel to Foreign Relations Ranking Member, Congressman Gregory Meeks.
A recognized thought leader in law and technology policy, Michele serves on the Aspen Institute’s AI Elections Initiative Advisory Council. Her board affiliations include Hampton University’s Board of Trustees, the National Partnership for Women and Families, and the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy Advisory Board.
As an attorney, author, and futurist, Michele consistently shapes global conversations at the intersection of technology, innovation, and social change. She is a regular commentator for international and US media outlets, bringing her insights on AI and tech policy, law and governance, social impact, democracy, and philanthropy to a global audience.
Michele holds a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law and a B.A. from Hampton University.

As Capital One’s President of Retail Bank, Celia Edwards Karam leverages over 20 years of leadership experience within the company to guide a team of 7,700+ in driving business growth and customer loyalty. Throughout her tenure, Celia has held diverse roles, including Chief Audit Officer and Head of Small Business Banking—where she led a digital transformation that significantly increased profitability. Her career is defined by a commitment to solving customer problems through a blend of technology and human-centric solutions. Under her leadership, Capital One’s Retail Bank initiatives prioritize financial health, supporting over 100 million customers. Celia holds an MBA from Stanford University and a BA in Economics from Harvard University.

Neel Kashkari has been president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis since Jan. 1, 2016. He serves as a voting member on the Federal Open Market Committee, bringing the Ninth Federal Reserve District’s perspective to monetary policy discussions in Washington, D.C.

In addition, Neel oversees Minneapolis Fed operations and leads its many initiatives. He was instrumental in establishing the Opportunity & Inclusive Growth Institute, whose mission is to ensure that world-class research helps to improve the economic well-being of all Americans.

Most recently, he’s supported the expansion of the Center for Indian Country Development, which advances the prosperity of Native nations and Indigenous communities through actionable data and research.

Neel earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois. He became an aerospace engineer, developing technology for NASA missions. Eventually turning to finance and public policy, he earned his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, joined Goldman Sachs, and served in several senior positions at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, including overseeing the Troubled Assets Relief Program, or TARP, during the financial crisis.

Before joining the Minneapolis Fed, he spent four years at PIMCO and then, in 2014, ran for governor of California on a platform focused on economic opportunity.

Neel and his wife, Christine, have two children, Uly and Tecumseh, and a Newfoundland dog named Webster.

Jelena McWilliams is President of Corporate and External Affairs at Plaid. One of the most respected leaders in financial services, she brings deep experience at the intersection of financial innovation, regulation, and leadership. Jelena previously served as Chairman of the FDIC, Chief Legal Officer at Fifth Third Bank, and most recently as a partner at Cravath, where she advised leading financial institutions. Throughout her career, she has been a consistent voice for transparency, consumer control, and practical, forward-looking policy, helping institutions navigate change while building trust across the financial ecosystem.

Eileen O’Mara is Stripe’s vice chair. She is responsible for representing Stripe with policymakers, senior government officials, state leaders, partners, and executives at Stripe’s customers to foster the conditions which advance entrepreneurship and increase economic dynamism globally.

Prior to assuming the role of vice chair, Eileen served as Stripe’s chief revenue officer, where she built the global go-to-market organization from the ground up. She was responsible for revenue and go-to-market strategy worldwide, supporting millions of businesses from global enterprises to high-growth startups to realize their growth ambitions.

With over 25 years of experience in building trusted relationships with companies across all industries and regions, she has been at the forefront of all major technology shifts, supporting companies to accelerate growth through technology. Eileen previously held senior leadership roles at Salesforce and Oracle. Eileen splits her time between New York and Dublin, Stripe’s dual HQ.

Frank Rotman has spent three decades at the intersection of money and human behavior, first helping build the modern consumer-credit system and now backing and building the companies reshaping it. One of the earliest hires at Signet Bank’s credit-card operation, which spun out to become Capital One, he spent 13 years there as an executive and its first Chief Credit Risk Officer, helping take the company public.

In 2007 he co-founded QED Investors, now one of the most respected fintech venture firms, managing roughly $4.3 billion across more than 250 companies, including 29 unicorns. As Chief Investment Officer, he led QED’s investment in Credit Karma, acquired by Intuit for $7.1 billion, and played a central role in bets on SoFi, Flywire, Nubank, GreenSky, and Klarna. Forbes has named him to its Midas List of top investors for seven straight years.

In 2025 he became Partner Emeritus at QED to build his own companies through his holding company, 37Maru, splitting his time between new ventures, mentoring founders, and writing. He reaches a large audience as @FintechJunkie on X and Substack. His first book, ArrowProof (2026), maps the startup journey through two first-time founders, drawing on advice he’s given hundreds of companies.

Lately his lens has turned from institutions to individuals. His next book, Unbroke: Why the Old Money Rules Are Broken and How to Fund the Life You Actually Want, argues that most personal-finance advice was built for a world that no longer exists. It’s the philosophy behind a personal-finance startup he’s building in stealth.

Rotman holds a B.S. in Applied Mathematics and an M.S. in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia. Away from work he reads great novels, watches embarrassingly bad reality TV, and writes children’s books.